


Story Times

by swtalmnd



Series: Project Monster [5]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: 00Q - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 06:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13405293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swtalmnd/pseuds/swtalmnd
Summary: A little bit of interim cuteness with Bond and Q, plus Andy and Colin come along for the stories.





	Story Times

**Author's Note:**

> Not abandoned! Still working very slowly, just busy and had a terrible 2017. Ugh.
> 
> Thank you so much to QueenThayet for the beta, all remaining typos are my own.

Q's pulse spiked as they entered the cinema with its lobby full of odd, shadowy nooks and giant cardboard displays. Bond was with him; he'd be fine, he knew he would, but at the same time it pricked at all his old fears. The place was practically empty on a Thursday afternoon, which only added to the horror-movie feeling.

"Oh, there's a claw machine," said Bond delightedly, pointing to where the game was shoehorned in between the loos. "Want me to win you a prize?"

"The Claaaaaaw," replied Q, a smile finding its way to his face as he let Bond distract him from his anxiety. "Think you can?"

"If they've not rigged it," said Bond. He patted the pocket their tickets were in. "We've got time, and then we can get snacks and find our seats."

Q followed him over to the lit-up machine, and they spent a few minutes choosing which of the cheap plush toys to go for. In the end, Bond won a complete set of Angry Birds that Q was fairly sure were actually for Bond and not Q. They were both grinning like maniacs as they made their way over to the mostly-deserted concessions counter, where one bored teenager was desultorily cleaning the glass on the popcorn machine.

Bond stepped up, hand on the small of Q's back while Q held the plushies as best he could. "Two large popcorns, please, and fizzy drinks as well," said Bond.

"Both Cokes?" asked the kid, prodding at a recalcitrant cash register.

"Red slushie for me, actually," said Q cheerfully. "Biggest cup you've got."

"Coke for me." Bond turned to Q. "You want some of these, too, right?" he asked, picking out a couple of different sweets, including the chocolate raisins that Andy was growing addicted to.

"Yeah, and those," said Q, pointing to the Smarties. "You're a good fiancé."

"I know where my duties lie," said Bond with a chuckle, piling a somewhat absurd amount of food on the counter and then pulling out his wallet.

Q chuckled. "I'm not sure how we'll get it all into the theatre with these, though," said Q, shrugging to indicate his armful.

"I'll get you a tray," said the kid, perking up a bit at the size of their purchase. He dug one out from under the counter and gave it a wipe before ringing everything up, placing items on the tray as they were added to the total. Drinks were last, at least until Q asked for ice cream, and by the time they paid and made their way into the cinema they were just in time for the lights to go down.

Q got everything arranged while Bond called Andy to them, and soon enough they were settled in with their drinks, snacks, and a monster hiding among the plush birds distributed between their two laps. Some part of Q's mind kept trying to pull up his old anxiety like a habit, but it just couldn't take hold of him. He had Bond's arm around him and Andy's cheerfully trilled whispers about the trailers for upcoming movies to keep him grounded in the safety of the present.

Besides, he was nearly as excited about some of the trailers as Andy.

There were only two other couples in the theatre, plus one lone guy down in front, so their murmured conversation from the very back of the room got little notice. 

"Stardarks! Zooooooms!" whispered Andy excitedly.

"And pirates," Q whispered back, getting a chuckle from Bond.

"Sky monsters," added Andy, sounding smug that some of its brethren were possibly on the big screen.

"If this goes well, we'll make it a new tradition." Bond kissed Q's ear. "Matinees on any day we can both get away."

"Goodhome," whispered Andy, munching on popcorn. "Stories goooood."

"Good family," said Q, kissing it on the head and then getting a kiss from Bond for good measure. The lights went the rest of the way down as the opening logos for the movie came up, and they all settled in to watch.

* * *

They elected to keep Andy cuddled in Q's cardigan on the way out, the three of them still enthusing about the film and a grin on Q's face that nothing could erase. They'd eaten every bit of the food, so Bond had his hands free and Q used his armful of Angry Birds to keep anyone from looking twice at the extra head peeking out from his clothing.

"Bigstory good," said Andy, climbing down into the footwell as Q got buckled in, the birds safely stowed in Bond's trunk. "Again?"

Bond chuckled. "Yes, definitely."

"Just not tonight," said Q. "That was fun but I'm ready to be home now."

"Yumyums?" asked Andy, big eyes peering up at Bond.

Q laughed. "You're a bottomless pit, pet." He rubbed its head fondly, giving it a good scratch behind its small, fuzzy ears.

"Yumyums good," it replied with a little huff, but its eyes were slitted in pleasure and it was draped over Q's shin like a blanket.

"I'll be cooking," promised Bond. "I've got a mind to do some homemade junk food, maybe mini pizzas. And I want to try that blueberry thyme syrup I made as a fizzy drink."

"Ooh," said Q and Andy in unison, making them all laugh as they pulled out into traffic and headed home.

* * *

"Let's have Colin over this weekend," said Q. He was full of homemade pizza, sipping a very fancy fizzy drink, and looking forward to whatever it was Bond had put in the oven afterward that was making the whole flat smell like chocolate and ginger.

"You just want someone else to play Mario Kart with us," said Bond, coming over to steal a kiss and a sip of Q's drink. "This turned out pretty well, didn't it?"

"You know it did," said Q, tugging him in for another kiss. "And I do, but I also know that Anne's going out of town."

"Ah, so we can keep him and have more reading time," said Bond with a grin. "All right, you arrange it and I'll get the ingredients for tagine."

"You know the way to his heart," said Q with a laugh, pulling out his phone to text Colin. Q and Bond had taken a small holiday this week, but Colin had elected to get ahead of the piles of paperwork waiting while Q wasn't there to generate more.

Q's invitation got an enthusiastic response, and they made plans for him to take the car service to his place and then theirs tomorrow night after work. "All right, grocery order time?"

"Yes, love," said Bond, looking so very fond.

Q understood completely; he'd never thought he'd have someone to do mundane things like grocery orders and weekend gaming binges with, either. "We should order that new rpg you two were talking about, too."

Bond perked up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." They shared kisses until the oven timer beeped. Q dug up his tablet, and Andy woke up from its doze to give its opinion on yumyums -- it had been learning the names of things recently, at least enough to communicate to its humans when it was bored of celery or in the mood for parsnips instead of carrots.

"They've got those rainbow carrots again," said Q, showing him the screen.

"Yesplease!" Andy hugged Q happily, and trilled its wordless joy. "Besthome."

"Get extras for me!" called Bond from the kitchen, making them all laugh.

It was, Q thought, a very good life indeed.

* * *

"Newstory?" said Andy, once Colin had been settled in to the guest room.

"After dinner," said Q with a chuckle. "It's possible Bond got us a surprise."

Colin perked up with nearly as much enthusiasm as the monster on his shoulder. "Really? You don't mind?"

"As long as I get my Mario Kart time tomorrow, I don't mind. I like the stories, too." 

They went to the kitchen to stick their nose in Bond's business, and were gently shooed away with a pot of Colin-made tea. Q sipped his cup and mmmed, stroking the cat that had overtaken his lap the moment he sat.

"More bookstory too?" asked Andy, snatching one of its beet biscuits off the tray and then snuggling up to Colin. 

"That's the plan," said Q. "We saved the spot we stopped with you, or we can just pick it up where we are now."

"Oooooor new," said Andy slyly.

Colin chuckled. "Why don't we choose something new for just when I visit?" he said, looking a little shy. 

That vanished when Andy hugged him and said, "Yay!"

"That sounds good," said Q. "It just has to be something I've read before so I don't get lost trying to do the voices."

"The voices are the best part," teased Colin, relaxing again. "So you're really going to keep inviting me?"

"We really are," said James from the kitchen doorway. "What about Harry Potter? You keep meaning to make me read those."

"YES!" said both of the younger humans in unison; Andy just looked happy to have the prospect of more new stories in his life.

They shared a laugh, and Q took Andy to find the first book while Bond borrowed Colin to set the table.

* * *

One of the things that made Colin such a good guest was that he slept long and deeply and wouldn't wake until breakfast lured him out of bed. Their shared shower was full of hushed giggling and slick bodies, and they emerged practically humming with happiness. Bond went to start up whatever breakfast he had planned, while Q roused Colin to make them all a pot of his magic tea and take his own turn at the shower.

Colin was good-natured about the request, and he shamelessly mugged for a sweet in exchange, which Bond cheerfully provided while Q set up the bathroom for Colin. It was quiet and homey and smooth, and after his cuppa and a sweet of his own Q leaned into Bond for another kiss. "You're spoiling me," he said happily.

"I'm spoiling all of us," said Bond. "I want to have these memories to rely on in the dark."

Q hugged him close from behind, as much comfort as he could be. "You always come back to my light now," he said softly, breathing in the warm scent of his monster.

"You two are way too cute," said Colin, coming back in with damp hair and a cheerful monster of his own.

"Ugh, mouthpets," said Andy, when Bond and Q kissed softly before Q moved away to let Bond finish up.

Both humans laughed, and then busied themselves getting everything set up while Bond got the quiche cooling on the rack and portioned out the fruit salad with his freshly-made orange and ginger dressing.

"Medical tells me you're good for me," said Q, plopping into a chair now that places were set and Colin was refilling the teapot.

"Me, too, actually," said Colin with a laugh. "I guess we've both been eating better since Bond started to care about your diet."

Bond chuckled. "It's as easy to make lunch for two - well, four - as just Q. Andy loves the extra variety in his diet, too."

"Yumyums," said Andy, gliding over to snuggle sleepily with Q. "All good."

"All good," agreed Q. "This is the best hobby."

"All good," said Colin with a chuckle, freshening everyone's cups. "And now I've also learned that if I bring food for us both, he'll actually eat it, so even when you aren't around we keep fed."

"Don't worry," said Q, staving off Bond's concern, "He steals my debit card."

"It's not stealing if you've authorised it and given me your PIN," said Colin innocently. "Anyway, I do all the legwork, I deserve free food."

"That you do," said Bond, putting the first dish of fruit down in front of Colin and stealing his plate to serve up the rest. There was vegetable quiche with a side of bacon and crumpets, all of it made fresh and smelling amazing.

Q got the second plate and didn't even object to Colin getting first dibs, because his assistant earned a bit of spoiling now and again. "So, more rpg today or something else?"

"Let's do a little more of the new game, and then some Mario Kart and coffee before lunch?" said Colin, looking hopeful.

"I'd love to," said Bond with a grin. "This way we can get Q to make us coffee while we're finding a good save point."

"Acceptable, and Andy will enjoy the story continuing," said Q, winking at the sleepy creature as its plate was set down in front of it, with quiche and crumpet and extra jam but no bacon.

Bond's plate, of course, more than made up for it with the bacon. He sat and accepted his cuppa from Colin in turn, and they all dug in with enthusiasm. Andy eventually perked up enough to ask for another crumpet, which made them all want another and got Bond to promise once he'd finished his first round that he'd make them all seconds. The quiche was unfairly delicious, with herbs and three kinds of cheese in the egg mixture all poured over zucchini and artichoke hearts and broccoli florets. 

"I made a second quiche, don't worry," said Bond, watching Q frown at his plate.

Q laughed sheepishly. "I have no idea how you make this many vegetables taste so good. I hardly even miss the bacon."

"You already ate your bacon," said Colin, teasing him gently.

"Ugh, deadmeats," said Andy, sticking out its tongue.

Bond chuckled. "We're teaching Q the value of vegetation." He stroked Andy's fur and then reached over to ruffle Q's hair, getting a kiss despite that.

Q harrumphed like he was meant to, and then finished off his cuppa and made puppy eyes at Colin until a new pot was underway. The rest of breakfast went like that, goodnatured teasing and filling themselves up on all the tasty treats, so that they were all relaxed and happy when they repaired to the living room.

That was, of course, when the lights flickered.

Bond was up out of his seat faster than Q could quite track, and looking more monstrous than before, with thinner lips and smoother skin and a more muscular build. He began pacing around the flat, growling a little, and Q scooted closer to Colin, both of them sitting crosslegged with Andy cuddled between them and a cat in each lap. They didn't say a word, just letting Bond do his thing, but Q could feel the fear curdling through the room, chilling the warmth they'd cultivated with their easy morning.

Whatever Bond was doing seemed to be working, however. The lights steadied and shadows receded, and Bond looked smug and proud when he came to sit down. He had to take a moment to get his hands back into shape for the controller and free of their strange claws, but after that he plopped down and went back to calling up the game.

"They were strong," said Bond, looking over at the trio cowering on the couch next to him, "but I'm stronger."

Q swallowed and nodded, but he couldn't quite make his legs unfold. "Will you stick around a while longer to be sure of that?" he asked.

Bond nodded. "I'll text 003 once we're all set up, too, I think she's in town again."

"I can pull up my office feed, too," said Q. He took a deep breath, then put his feet on the floor and stood, going to snag his tablet and start up the coffee machine. "Mochas for everyone?"

That made them all laugh, and relaxed them. They were even more relaxed when Q's office showed no signs of tampering, nor Andy's cat bed, and everyone had coffee to warm them. Bond and Colin were gaming away while Q checked all the security he could call up, including contacting both 003 and then 006, when it turned out 003 was still in the air on her way back from a mission. By the time they'd gotten to a good stopping point in their game, Q had made a second set of coffees and Andy had begun making story-related suggestions, using a baby carrot to point.

Life wasn't perfect, but at least it was back to a certain value of normal.

Then Q kicked both their arses at Mario Kart, just to be sure.


End file.
